Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Director Sells $588,930.00 in Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Robert Murphy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $588.93, for a total transaction of $588,930.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,780,404.47. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.4%

Murphy USA stock traded down $7.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $502.21. The stock had a trading volume of 365,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,107. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $522.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $515.59. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $352.42 and a 52 week high of $636.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.37 by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 92.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 35.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $915,734,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Murphy USA by 3.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 149,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 23.2% in the first quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,986,000 after purchasing an additional 27,513 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter worth $54,143,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in Murphy USA by 21,322.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 103,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,526,000 after buying an additional 102,560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.